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UN votes to axe Syria weapons

Sangwon Yoon, Nicole Gaouette

Unanimous: British Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry vote. Photo: Reuters

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved an agreement to eliminate all of Syria's chemical weapons.

The council voted 15-0 to adopt a resolution drafted by the US, Britain and France in response to an August 21 gas attack in Damascus that killed more than 1400 people.

The resolution lacks immediate consequences if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fails to comply and does not assign blame for the attack, which US, British and French officials attribute to Dr Assad's regime.

Russia, a Syrian ally, has blamed rebels for the August gas attack and blocked tougher wording on the Security Council resolution.

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Russian vetoes of previous UN attempts to sanction Dr Assad made Saturday's vote the first diplomatic breakthrough at the UN since Syria's civil war began 2½ years ago.

''Today's historical resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,'' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

The Security Council voted after the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the world body in The Hague that monitors compliance with the treaty banning chemical arms, adopted a blueprint to verify, remove, and destroy Dr Assad's arsenal of sarin and other chemical weapons by mid-2014.

The chemical weapons organisation's 41-nation executive council spent almost two weeks in closed-door discussions as the US, its allies and Russia debated the text of the UN resolution.

The plan approved earlier on Friday in The Hague outlines the mission the group will undertake in Syria and lays out the procedures for inspecting and eliminating Dr Assad's arsenal. The UN document ensures that the mission is enforceable and legally verifiable, the official said. The OPCW said its executive council agreed on an ''accelerated program'' for the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons and related material and will begin inspections in Syria by October 1.

''This decision sends an unmistakable message that the international community is coming together to work for peace in Syria, beginning with the elimination of chemical weapons in that country,'' OPCW director-general Ahmet Uzumcu said.

Syrian opposition leader Ahmad al-Jarba said the pact would not end the suffering in Syria.

The resolution, Mr Ban told the Security Council, ''is is not a licence to kill with conventional weapons''.

The UN action follows two weeks of whirlwind diplomacy after Russia and the United States reached an agreement in Geneva to avert an American military strike against Syria if Dr Assad agreed to relinquish his poison gas arsenal.

Friday's UN resolution states that Syria ''shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to other states or non-state actors.''

If Syria does not comply or participates in ''unauthorised transfer of chemical weapons,'' or if there is ''any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic,'' the Security Council can move to ''impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter''.

The Security Council then would discuss alleged violations, with individual members able to present their own intelligence on the event and permanent members, such as Russia, able to wield a veto against any final decision.

The charter's Chapter 7 allows the world body to take action, including the use of force, in response to acts of aggression or threats against peace.

The UN will send an ''advance team'' for preliminary assistance to the OPCW, and the two groups will report to the council every 30 days on the mission's progress.